Lapu Lapu

The Coral Grouper

Tagalog: Lapu Lapu

Scientific name:  Cephalopholis miniata

The Grouper is a cruiser.

Her job is to patrol, ponder and protect her piece of reef from other big predators. Her flashy colors won’t betray her. The deeper she patrols away from the sunlight, the more her brilliant red fades away, blending her into this homey reef background until she is almost invisible.  This is perfect for sneaking up on intruders or surprising tasty unsuspecting morsels.

These far out pectoral fins are actually wings

F is for Flying Fish Fins

Tagalog: Isdang lawin

Scientific name: Cheilopogon arcticeps

Flying fish pectoral fins make fantastic wings. With these fins, one can jump out of the water to enjoy the thrill of flying on the salty sea air.  The use of these fins is a fast way to elude feisty flying fish loving predators.  There is nothing more satisfying for a full fledged flying fish than keeping pace with the flying fish school and frolicking on ocean currents of both air and water. There are few fishes in the ocean that have the fins to enjoy this type of freedom.

E is for Elongate Eel

Tagalog: Indong

Scientific Name: Gymnothorax isingteena

aka The Spotted Moray

This eel is an eeeelongate fish, his long body is ideally suited to squeeze through small holes in the reef and chase small fishes for dinner.

An interesting hunting partnership developed between Moray eels and Groupers. The Grouper sees where a school of fish have hidden themselves from him in the coral reef, because he is too big to go into these small holes he goes off to find his friend the eel. This eel is a bit nearsighted so the grouper floats right in front of his face and shakes his head back and forth, back and forth. this is their secret code for:  ”I know where there are some tasty small fish, follow me”.  The eel follows the grouper to the place in the reef where the small fish are hiding. He wriggles in and chases them out for the grouper to catch and hopefully manages to catch a few for himself along the way.

When a clownfish and an anemone meet….

A Mermaid Scientist Film made by The Mermaid Islands Corporation

These tropical islands are a mecca for modern day explorer-biologists, as they still resonate and whisper historic promises of discovery given to the likes of Alfred Wallace and Charles Darwin. This corner of the ocean is the earth’s most biodiverse marine region and is home to many treasures yet to be discovered (including island clusters undocumented by the omnipotent Google Earth). In fact, The California Academy of Sciences found more than 300 new species, including a new shark, on their short, 44-day Hearst Expedition in 2011. Discovery is a daily delight in these waters.  It is an experience sure to give any naturalist tingles up and down the spine.

The Tagbanua (Tahg-Bah-Nwa) are the indigenous fishers who have always lived in harmony with the ocean and these islands. Property boundaries are only documented and verified by the memories of the elders; their ancient language, seldom written, resembles hieroglyphics, and they live day-by-day, harvesting what they need. Over the last 50 years, they have noticed a significant decline in the size and number of fish swimming in their waters. Where you could once catch 50 large Lapu Lapu in an hour, now you can catch two small Lapu Lapu in 10 hours. (Lapu Lapu aka Coral Grouper aka Cephalopholis miniata).

 The Philippines is no different from other countries in that overpopulation is causing increased human impact in remote and pristine areas. In times past, these remote regions were protected by the mere fact that they were too remote and too wild to be tamed. Now, every month, thousands of immigrants from large cities like Manila and Cebu set up squatter camps. The camps lack infrastructure, like sewage, and are filled with people who are desperately hungry, all of whom traditionally eat fish. The Tagbanua are powerless against the flow of immigrants and wholly unprepared to protect their land and waters from it. What makes the effect of this local population boom so extreme isn’t just the overfishing; it is the devastating use of dynamite and cyanide to harvest fish on the near-shore coral reefs.

Coral is a shockingly resilient creature in The Philippine Islands compared to other places in the world. It bounces back from warm water bleaching events, disease, storm sedimentation, raw sewage, and the annual crush of violent typhoons. Regardless of how durable this coral has become, the two aforementioned fishing techniques, cyanide and dynamite, are its deadly opponent.

Cyanide can be purchased in a 50 lb bag of pellets and it’s very easy to use – just throw the pellets around in the water as you float over the reef. Instead of spending hours to catch one fish by hand, all the fish simply float to the surface. But, the whole reef, the foundation for fish life and human food security, is badly damaged by its use. Dynamite, or “Blast Fishing,” blows up the reef and leaves behind a crater of dead fragments. Even these tough corals can not bounce back from being blown up. These particular overfishing techniques result in less fish available to an already hungry population, which leads fishermen to take more desperate measures to feed families, leading to an even more destroyed reef and a lot less fish.

Recently, the Filipino government granted the Tagbanua the rights to their ancestral domain and they have begun to assess the growing damage to their island reefs. They value their fish stocks and want to keep them healthy, but lack expensive enforcement and knowledge of modern ecosystem-based management. My background is in the analysis of Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) and their associated fisheries.  My interests include investigating the bio-economic implications of catch, gear, permits, habitat, and time, and cornering anyone who feigns interest to enthusiastically talk about it. In 2010, I spent several weeks alone on one of these islands. This is when I met a group of Tagbanua kids and then their council of elders and I was excitedly bursting with thoughts and run-on-sentences.

As I spent time learning about their lives and offering to share what I know about fisheries, I shocked both the children and then the elders with fun facts about the water around them; for example, that coral was alive. It was from these discussions, and the determination of Tagbanua islanders to maintain their valuable fish stock, that The Mermaid Islands Corporation was born. The Tagbanua wanted a Coral Ecology Learning Lab for Tagbanua kids, the future stewards of their ancestral waters. We at The Mermaid Islands Corporation agreed to solicit funds from investors in the area to support the project. Together, we found the perfect little island to house the Mermaid Islands Learning Lab, and the Tagbanua would protect the waters around the school’s island from destructive fishing practices. Our agreement resulted in the first Mermaid Islands Education-Based, Tagbanua-Run Marine Protected Area.

I did not expect this adventure when I came to the Philippines. My initial focus was to study and protect the gorgeous tropical reefs in The Coral Triangle but found that I needed to redefine the starting point. Being able to read a book gives you access to infinite knowledge. Knowledge is power and reading is the first step not only to self empowerment but to life long opportunities, answers and adventures. My hope is that this learning lab will eventually allow them to take advantage of the massive database of coral reef ecology and ecosystem based management that exists just beyond their fingertips. This is why the educational component of The Mermaid Islands Corporation has come to define us.

Tending Island is a small island in the protective shadow of a pearl farm. A rag tag bunch of adorable Tagbanua kids, eager to learn, had to paddle their little canoes more than eight hours to get to Tending Island. To fix this problem, we decided to house and feed the kids throughout the school week.  This added incentive for the kids and surrounding families to attend. Expected attendance at orientation was 22 students but 76 kids, from ages four to 17, showed up and with uncles, aunties, and grandparents in tow. The education dinner bell had rung, and everyone was invited to stay. To compensate for the unexpected attendance numbers, we scaled down the school week from five to three days a week. The teachers would also spend the nights to help rope in the chaos. We also hired one of the grannies as a full time cook and a young couple to stay as full time caretakers on the island. The parents also helped support the initiative by supplementing our meals with fish and extra firewood over the next six months, and they often stayed to listen in on the lessons.

The staff learned a lot during the first few months. The first thing we learned was that 85% of the students were illiterate. The few who could write their names did, the rest bravely attempted to emulate them by awkwardly drawing ornate scribbles on their page. The second thing that we learned was that 98% of the students had never been to school before. When asked why, they explained that nobody could afford to get birth certificates. In order to attend a “real” school, you had to be documented.

Our curriculum quickly evolved into a basic literacy and numeracy lab, sprinkled with occasional coral ecology lectures featuring photo slideshows. By the end of the first year, everyone could write their name, do some basic math, and had birth certificates. Nine students proudly passed the basic literacy exam and were accepted at the nearest high school in Coron. And, while educating the kids in the area, the adults were taking active steps to protect the reef around the island. The biggest triumph for the Tagbanua was when the Philippines Department of Education acknowledged their efforts in education and officially became the next funder of the school. Starting in September 2012, the Department of Education is providing Tending Island with two teachers: one for kindergarten and one for first grade. I was happy to pass the torch to the professionals which allowed me to expand our initiative and refine it’s focus back to Marine Ecology.

Starting in February 2012, Mermaid Islands Corporation partnered with Unite to Light to bring solar powered reading lights to the students. (To donate a light, click here and choose, “Mermaid Project, Philippines” in the Donation Recipient dropdown list). Another project we’re working on for the kids, and my favorite one, is an alphabet book of Palawan sea creatures that we are looking to publish. The Mermaid Islands Alphabet Book  is filled with facts about their island reef and supplemented with charismatic representations of fish, dugongs, and invertebrates that most people in the area simply call dinner. Let’s not underestimate the power of anthropomorphizing animals in this process to build respect and understanding for the aquatic environment.

 While I didn’t set out to start an education program, that is what I ended up doing on Tending Island.   This School represents a partnership among parents, students, teachers, and community leaders committed to teaching their children to read and write. This important skill will prepare students for success in high school and in life. By helping these students become literate and self empowered, Tending Island School plays a part in building a better tomorrow for the community, for Palawan and for the Philippines. The Mermaid Islands Corporation empowers kids through ocean education and basic literacy, a mission first defined by the needs and enthusiasm of this particularly impressive indigenous community.

for you from The Mermaid Scientist Lab

just click the Dugong below:

Being a Kinship Conservation Institute Fellow, I was asked to come up with a series of questions for their Winter Newsletter in 2013. The purpose of the article is to present questions BY a Director/Founder of a Nonprofit FOR a Director/Founder of a Nonprofit for their Winter Newsletter in 2013. There is another young woman who decided to create an education based nonprofit in the 3rd world and they hoped that our interaction would be thought provoking for current fellows. Here are my answers:

1. What is the name of your nonprofit?
2. What is it’s mission?
3. What was one of your previous jobs that prepared you for founding your nonprofit?
4. What are 3 pieces of equipment that you found to be the most valuable in your project and why?
5. What is the most uncomfortable thing you have had to eat during your stint In the 3rd world? Any comments or tips on local food in your region of work.
6. Describe a story or event relating to your project(s) abroad that culturally shocked you, as a Western woman (or at least shocked your family back home when you recounted it).
7. What do you like most about your position as a Director of a Nonprofit?
8. What advice would you give to people considering becoming a director or founding an org?

Claudia’s Answers:

1. The Mermaid Islands Corporation
2. To teach Marine Biology to kids, the most recent project focused on coral reef ecology to island kids in Palawan.
3. A Fisheries Research Biologist for NOAA/NMFS
4. Equipment :

• A heavy duty, air tight Tupperware-like container. It is surprising how many things work better when protected from the tropical humidity. Also, there are only a few tropical insects who have the jaw power and patience to gnaw through it to get to the goods. Even the ants here have the ability to gnaw through plastic.
• Solar powered reading light and/or head lamp. This is perfect when electricity is a very limited resource. In addition to being able to read and work, it gives you some freedom and reassurance at night. For example, it allows one to use the loo in the dark without fear of stepping on a fist sized jumping spider or any other poisonous nocturnal animal. Small and lightweight, Unite to Light has a great light whose battery lasts for 3 years in the tropical humidity. 
• A good rain jacket with pockets. Typhoon season comes every year. Even if you get soaked to the bone you will at least feel a little cozier.

5.  The most challenging thing I ate (on many occasions) was a breakfast of Dried reef fishes with a handful of pebble flecked rice. It never got easier and was often the remnants of the previous nights dinner. This SUPER fishy dish harbors a violently pungent taste achieved only by the equally popular fermented shrimp paste and sour green mango. No refrigeration needed. Split your reef fish and lay it on the beach in the tropical sun. After 3 or so days of being COVERED in flies, it will have ripened perfectly into a hard as tack fish mummy. Remove from sun and put on table (if you have one).  During grace, pray for the possibility that saltiness may have killed any bacteria, fly babies or brain parasites. Be mindful of your teeth while eating. It’s always good to hang onto the good ones and chances are high you don’t have many if you eat this regularly. Be polite to your hosts. Notice how thin everyone is, recognize this is an important source of protein and appreciate the significance of this generous gesture to share. This dish is sure to shock the imagination and mild pallet of Americans and Europeans alike. Also a great way to lose weight

6.  The East Indies gives one a feeling of the Wild Wild West. The amount of  weapons that people carry always shocked me. In the rural areas everyone carries a machete. At our little school during recess, even the four year olds would have their machetes and use them in their games. Like in all school yards they have different and ever changing versions of tag and hide & seek. Not having any school issued rubber balls is not a barrier to fun here. The kids could quickly and casually use their machete to cut, strip and weave a small bamboo cube. This could then be thrown at other kids to get them in or out or frozen.

7.  The control and power of deciding the direction and outcomes of projects that I care about. It is both scary and awesome to have the ability to make something succeed.

8. My advise would be don’t forget to pay yourself. My first rookie mistake was solely  concentrating on the project and forgetting that a salary should be included in the cost equation. It is OK to be paid for running a nonprofit.

Here’s an excerpt:

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner can carry about 250 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,300 times in 2012. If it were a Dreamliner, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

The Mermaid Islands Corporation is a 501(c)3 Corporation dedicated to empowering kids through education and educating kids about the ocean and it’s critters.

If you would like to support The Mermaid Islands in it’s mission, donations can be made in any amount via check or PayPal. Click the button below for PayPal.

Donations can also be made by check addressed to  “The Mermaid Islands Corporation”

Please send checks via mail to the following address:

The Mermaid Islands Corporation

PO Box 12103

San Luis Obispo, CA  93406

D is for Dugong
a water color by Claudia Makeyev

D is for Dugong

Tagalog: Duyong

Scientific name: Dugong dugon

Duyong = Tagalog/Tagbanua word for Dugong